Italian ploy?

Italy is threatening to withdraw from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the advanced training and research institution in Heidelberg, Germany, which is supported by 15 European countries.

Italy's minister of research, Umberto Colombo, a former chemistry professor, has told the laboratory's director, Fotis Kafatos, that Italy will pull out at the end of 1994.

Explaining this decision to the Italian press, Colombo said that Italy contributes 17 per cent of the centre's costs, but reaps about 1 per cent of the benefits in terms of research projects involving Italy, jobs for researchers and scholarships.

Colombo's decision is causing concern among Italian researchers. Many scientists, such as the Nobel prizewinner Rita Levi Montalcini, have asked him to change his mind.

But, say sources at the ministry, Colombo's decision might be designed to push EMBL's management into giving Italy a greater say in running the laboratory and a bigger share of ...

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